• Title/Summary/Keyword: Reproductive responses

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Male Hynobius leechii (Amphibia: Hynobiidae) Discriminate Female Reproductive States Based on Chemical Cues

  • Park, Dae-Sik;Sung, Ha-Cheol
    • Animal cells and systems
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    • v.10 no.3
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    • pp.137-143
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    • 2006
  • A series of no-choice olfactory response tests using water pre-conditioned with females, with intact and surgically removed ventral glands, at various reproductive states were conducted to determine whether male Hynobius leechii discriminates among females in different reproductive states based on chemical cues. Similarly, ventral gland extracts were tested, and ventral glands were examined histologically. Males’ responses to putative odors of females in four (ovulating, ovulated, ovipositing, and oviposited) reproductive states were independently measured by: i) the latency time to initiate male behavioral response, ii) the arrival time at a fixed point of putative odor source, and iii) the staying time close to the odor point source. Male salamanders showed significant olfactory responses to recently ovulated and ovipositing female odors by quickly arriving at odor sources and staying longer at the origin of the source, but the olfactory responses to the earlier staged ovulating females and the later stage of already oviposited females were not different from controls. Olfactory responses of test males to water preconditioned by intact females or females with ventral glands excised were not different. In addition, ventral gland extracts did not induce significant olfactory responses of test males although the lumens of alveoli in ventral glands of oviposited females were smaller than those of ovulated females. These results indicate that male H. leechii recognizes ovulated and ovipositing females based on chemical cues released but not from the ventral glands.

Effects of dietary fiber in gestating sow diets - A review

  • Hyunwoong Jo;Beob Gyun Kim
    • Animal Bioscience
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    • v.36 no.11
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    • pp.1619-1631
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    • 2023
  • The objective of this review was to provide an overview of the effects of dietary fiber (DF) on reproductive performance in gestating sows. Dietary fibers have been suggested to modulate microbiota in the intestine and the immune system of gestating sows and to improve gut health. Thus, DF may help alleviate the adverse effects of the stressful production cycle of gestating sows. These benefits may subsequently result in improved reproductive performance of sows. Previous studies have reported changes in microbiota by providing gestating sows with DF, and the responses of microbiota varied depending on the source of DF. The responses by providing DF to gestating sows were inconsistent for antioxidative capacity, hormonal response, and inflammatory response among the studies. The effects of DF on reproductive performance were also inconsistent among the previous studies. Potential reasons contributing to these inconsistent results would include variability in reproductive performance data, insufficient replication, influence of other nutrients contained in the DF diets, characteristics of DF, and experimental periods. The present meta-analysis suggests that increasing the total DF concentration by 10 percentage units (e.g., 12% to 22% as-fed basis) in gestating sow diets compared to the control group improves the litter born alive by 0.49 pigs per litter. However, based on the present review, questions remain regarding the benefits of fibers in gestating sow diets. Further research is warranted to clarify the mode of action of fibers and the association with subsequent reproductive performance in gestating sows.

Responses of Soybean Cultivars to Excessive Soil Moisture Imposed at Different Growth Stages

  • Seong, Rak-Chun;Sohn, Joo-Yong;Shim, Sang-In
    • KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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    • v.45 no.5
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    • pp.282-287
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    • 2000
  • Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] crops, grown in a rice soybean rotation, can suffer when grown in soil with excessive moisture. The objective of this work were to determine the reduction in growth and yield, responses of vegetative and reproductive growth of soybean to excessive soil moisture achieved by prolonged irrigation. Responses of different cultivars were determined at growth stages from V6 to R8 to clarify the sensitive growth stages or characteristics to excessive soil moisture. Cultivar differences in response to excessive soil moisture condition were conspicuous in seed dry weight and harvest index (HI) but not in the response of seed number or pod number per plant. The timing of irrigation causing the condition of excessive soil moisture influenced the vegetative or reproductive traits. Soybean plants were more affected by irrigation commencing at the pre-flowering than at the post-flowering stage. Post-flowering irrigation did not reduce growth of vegetative organs significantly; in fact the growth of stems and leaves was facilitated by the prolonged irrigation commencing at flowering. Differences between cultivar response to prolonged irrigation were assumed to relate to the reduced amount of assimilates translocated to the reproductive organ.

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Endoplasmic reticulum stress in periimplantation embryos

  • Michalak, Marek;Gye, Myung Chan
    • Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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    • v.42 no.1
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    • pp.1-7
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    • 2015
  • Stress coping mechanisms are critical to minimize or overcome damage caused by ever changing environmental conditions. They are designed to promote cell survival. The unfolded protein response (UPR) pathway is mobilized in response to the accumulation of unfolded proteins, ultimately in order to regain endoplasmic reticulum (ER) homeostasis. Various elements of coping responses to ER stress including Perk, Ask1, Bip, Chop, Gadd34, Ire1, Atf4, Atf6, and Xbp1 have been identified and were found to be inducible in oocytes and preimplantation embryos, suggesting that, as a normal part of the cellular adaptive mechanism, these coping responses, including the UPR, play a pivotal role in the development of preimplantation embryos. As such, the UPR-associated molecules and pathways may become useful markers for the potential diagnosis of stress conditions for preimplantation embryos. After implantation, ER stress-induced coping responses become physiologically important for a normal decidual response, placentation, and early organogenesis. Attenuation of ER stress coping responses by tauroursodeoxycholate and salubrinal was effective for prevention of cell death of cultured embryos. Further elucidation of new and relevant ER stress coping responses in periimplantation embryos might contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the regulation of normal development of embryonic development and potentiation of embryonic development in vitro.

A Study on Sexual Knowledge, Sexual Attitude and Reproductive Health Promoting Behaviors in Nursing Students (간호대학생의 성지식, 성태도, 생식건강증진행위에 관한 연구)

  • Yoon Jung Koo;Sunyeun Hong
    • The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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    • v.10 no.2
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    • pp.439-446
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    • 2024
  • The purpose of this study was to investigate relationship among sexual knowledge, sexual attitudes, and reproductive health promoting behaviors of nursing college students. The research tools utilized were sexual knowledge measurement tool by Jeon(2004), sexual attitudes measurement tool by Ho(2009), and reproductive health promoting behaviors measurement tool by Jo(2014). A total of 300 nursing college students were surveyed, and 229 responses were analyzed. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Scheffe's post hoc test and pearson's correlation coefficients with IBM SPSS Statistics 21.0. Female students exhibited higher sexual knowledge, and it was evident that reproductive health promoting behavior education is appropriate during lower academic years. Additionally, the indication that higher sexual knowledge corresponds to higher reproductive health promoting behaviors suggests the ongoing necessity for sexual education to enhance reproductive health promoting behaviors. Therefore, this study could serve as foundational data for developing educational materials on reproductive health promoting behaviors for counseling and education aimed at improving nursing college students' reproductive health.

The use of RKPM meshfree methods to compute responses to projectile impacts and blasts nearby charges

  • Choi, Hyung-Jin;Crawford, John;Wu, Youcai
    • Computers and Concrete
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    • v.7 no.2
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    • pp.119-143
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    • 2010
  • This paper presents results from a study concerning the capability afforded by the RKPM (reproducing kernel particle method) meshfree analysis formulation to predict responses of concrete and UHPC components resulting from projectile impacts and blasts from nearby charges. In this paper, the basic features offered by the RKPM method are described, especially as they are implemented in the analysis code KC-FEMFRE, which was developed by Karagozian & Case (K&C).

Possible Genetic Improvement in Dairy Cattle with Improving Reproductive Rates (젖소에 있어서 개량생산 비율에 의한 유전 개량 효과)

  • ;C.Smith
    • Journal of Embryo Transfer
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    • v.10 no.1
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    • pp.33-44
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    • 1995
  • Genetic changes from improving female's reproductive rate through in vitro fertilization of large number of oocytes were studied. The breeding scheme employed was multiple ovulation and embryo transfer of juveniles and adults. Both balanced and unbalanced matings were examined for the four closed progeny population sizes, 10$^3$, 10$^4$, 105, 106. In balanced matings, all selected sires and dams were mated to each other(cross-classified mating) while unbalanced matings allowed selected dams and sires mated partially, eg. unbalanced matings allowed averages of .5 and .25 progeny per each mating. Various numbers of selected sires and dams were also examined in both balanced and unbalanced matings. In all mating schemes, selection of males and females was restricted to he one from each fullsib family to reduce the rate of inbreeding. The model calculations were deterministic and accounted for the effects of selection and inbreeding on loss of the genetic variation in succeeding generations. Balanced rectangular mating schemes, where more donors were selected than sires, resulted in larger selection responses than balanced square mating schemes, where equal numbers of sires and donors were selected, and unbalanced rectangular mating. The first round selection responses from the balanced rectangular matings of juvenile MOET, eg. number of progeny per mating equals 2 with 10 sires selected, were 1.192, 1.406, 1.580 and 1.735 times larger than the first round selection responses from the balanced square mating schemes for the given four progeny population sizes, 10$^3$, 10$^4$, 105 and 106, respectively. Similar results were obtained in adult MOET breeding schemes. However, balanced square matings gave greater selection responses than the unbalanced rectangular matings.

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Assessing systemic, developmental, and reproductive toxicity and estrogenicity of Korean red ginseng extract G1899 in juvenile Sprague-Dawley Rats

  • Sangyun Kim;Ji-Seong Jeong;Woojin Kim;Onju Ham;Yixian Quah;Soontag Jung;Dong-Ju Park;Min Jae Kim;Byung-Cheol Han;Eunji Kim;Seung-Jin Lee;Wook-Joon Yu
    • Journal of Ginseng Research
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    • v.48 no.3
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    • pp.333-340
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    • 2024
  • Background: Korean red ginseng (KRG) is a product from ginseng roots, which is enriched with ginsenosides and has been utilized for a long time as an adaptogen to alleviate various physiological or disease conditions. While KRG is generally considered safe, conducting a thorough toxicological assessment of the spray-dried powder G1899 during the juvenile period is essential to establish its safety profile. This study aimed to assess the safety of G1899 during the juvenile period using Sprague-Dawley rats. Methods: Two studies were conducted separately: a juvenile toxicity study and a uterotrophic bioassay. To assess the potential toxicity at systemic, postnatal developmental, and reproductive levels, G1899 was orally gavaged once a day in post-weaning juvenile Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats at 0, 1250, 2500, or 5000 mg/kg/day. Estrogenicity was assessed by orally gavaging G1899 in immature female SD rats at 0, 2500, or 5000 mg/kg/day on postnatal days (PND) 19-21, followed by a uterotrophic bioassay. These studies were conducted in accordance with the Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) regulations and regulatory test guidelines. Results: Regarding juvenile toxicity, no abnormalities related to the G1899 treatment were observed in any group during the experiment. Moreover, no uterotrophic responses were observed in the dosed female group. Based on these results, the no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) of G1899 was determined to be at least 5000 mg/kg/day for general systemic function, developmental/reproductive function, and estrogenic activity. Conclusion: Our results suggest that G1899 is not toxic to juveniles at doses of up to 5000 mg/kg/day.

Comparison of physiological responses soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merill] of different irrigation Periods

  • Kim, Eun Hye;Chung, Ill Min
    • Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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    • 2017.06a
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    • pp.195-195
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    • 2017
  • The water in the crop cultivation shows difference according to the variety of crop, cultivations period and climatic condition. The growth and development, quantity and fruit enlargements are affected by soil water conditions. In previous study, leaf area and photosynthesis are decreased by lower soil moisture. Other research reported that excess moisture condition at vegetative and reproductive growth period in cultivation of soybean caused highest reduction in crop growth rate (CGR) and dry weights of plant parts. In particular, the damage was bigger during vegetative growth stage than reproductive growth period. Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merill) is useful and popular crop throughout the world. It is very popular crop in Korea, China, Japan and other Asian countries. Soybeans used in various way including soybean sprouts, paste, soymilk, oil and tofu. Two soybean cultivars grown in four different irrigation conditions were determined for physiological responses. In this study, we examined leaf area (LA), leaf dry weight (LDW), specific leaf area (SLA), root dry weight (RDW) and shoot height (SH) in different water conditions. 50mL/9day irrigation periods showed the lowest contents in LA, LDW, RDW, SH. Water deficit caused increase of leaf Water saturation deficits (WSD), Cheongjakong 3 and Taekwangkong showed increase of leaf water saturation deficits (WSD) in drought conditions and leaf water potential and stomatal conductance were decreased. Photochemical efficiency was decreased in 50mL/1day irrigation condition while, there was decrease of growth and development in 50mL/9day with drought.

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